Heartbeat || A Good Girls Fanfic

Chapter 5

Soft and repetitious movement had Charlotte fluttering her eyes open. The room was still unlit but the light peeking through the ajar door was enough to let her make out Twitch's face. He wore an apologetic smile as he instructed her that she was free to leave the warehouse.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at her watch. It was well past one thirty.

"I let you sleep in a little," Twitch shrugged. "Figured you'd be tired."

"Thanks," she smiled. "Do you know, by any chance, the status of my sisters and friend?"

"Well, all I can say is that the boss hasn't called a cleaning crew. So, I guess that's good news."

"Alright then," Charlotte breathed. "Well, I'll see you when I see you."

"With this crew, it'll be more often than not," he laughed. "Goodbye, doc."

"Bye, Twitch," she chuckled before disappearing from his view.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Charlie took off running, hurrying to get to her car. Her brain was back to machinating at unnatural speeds the worst-case scenarios regarding Beth, Annie, and Ruby. She quietly prayed there were no police officers in the streets because she was going well beyond the speed limit.

Charlie's hands had gone numb. She had put her whole trust in the hands of a man she didn't know – trust that he'd keep his word and take pity over her sister's and friend's life. But the rational part of her knew that she could walk into any situation in Beth's house, and the probability of witnessing a blood bath was high.

She parked her car on the street, noting that all of theirs were still parked in the driveway. From the outside, everything looked normal. The front door was closed, the street was quiet, no signs of a brutal murder anywhere to be seen. But she didn't know what she'd see inside.

The girl hurried to the front door, trying her best to maintain an even breathing pattern. She turned the handle and prepared herself for the smell of death to waft into her nostrils.

Instead, she found Beth, Ruby, and Annie in a complete state of shock, but unharmed. The same could not be said for the dining room. Charlie was sure he was going to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. And she couldn't help but feel guilty about the contrasting life she was experiencing with Rio.

"Oh, sweet Jesus," Charlie breathed out. "You guys are okay."

Charlie hugged Beth first. Beth's arms tightly squeezed her little sister, making sure the vision before her was real. She could feel her sister trembling, the air that was expelled from her body, shaky and unstable. They were petrified, knowing they had just gone through a near-death experience and had somehow come out the other end unfazed. Charlotte went around the table and hugged Annie next, followed by Ruby, basking in their warmth and rubbing comforting circles on their back.

They stayed huddled together for around an hour or two, she had no way of knowing how much time had actually passed but the sun had started to set. As her sisters and friend stabled their breathing, Charlotte started cleaning. She picked up the bigger pieces of debris, clearing a path free of glass they could move through.

Soon after, as the nerves left their bodies, the other girls joined.

"This was my favorite sangria bowl," Beth complained as she threw away the pieces of a decorated ceramic bowl.

"Well, it could've been your face," I mumbled.

Ruby handed us each a shot of vodka. "To life," she cheersed. "L'chaim."

As they continued clearing out the space, Annie found a figurine. "Looks like we got a survivor."

"This is what you were going to pay him with?" Charlie was shocked. "Pig figurines?"